Tuesday, 9 August 2011

My new book, The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics, is scheduled for release in six weeks time and it seems that the usual suspects – Zionists and their collaborators within the marginal “left” – are already in a state of panic. In the last few days, my publishing house, my editors and I have been subjected to immense and intense pressure that included harassment, intimidation and even anonymous threats, as the demands mounted on my publisher to pull the book.

Leading the harassment campaign were the openly pro-war Zionist Islamophobes from Harry’s Place, who wrote “more now than ever, strong opposition to Atzmon and his politics is needed”.

Within minutes of the Harry’s Place post, Andy Newman joined in with their futile attempt at an intimidation campaign, writing in Socialist Unity “I am concerned to learn that the anti-Semite, Gilad Atzmon, is writing a book on Jews for the Zero Press.”(Andy Newman is the “socialist” who for years appeared to spend much of his energy engaged mainly in gatekeeping anti-Israeli discourse within the British “left”.)

Predictably enough, staunch Iraq war advocate and Israeli hasbara author David Aaronovitch was also very quick to join in the campaign on the notorious Jewish Chronicle’s pages.

The question must be asked: why are these people so afraid of Gilad Atzmon? Why are they afraid of Atzmon’s writing and ideas? Why are they so desperate to stop the book, even going so far as to attempt to intimidate the author, the editor and the publishing company?

Be assured that I have collected all the relevant information about the individuals who have attempted to launch an intimidation campaign against me and my publisher, and I will publish it all in due course, but the most important factor to observe here is: how is it that the openly Islamophobic Harry’s Place and pro-war David Aaronovitch are in bed together with the armchair “progressive” Socialist Unity, united in the same cause of trying to stop my work from being published ?

I believe that my new book provides the answers. I disclose the horrifying continuum between Zionists and so-called Jewish “anti-Zionists”. I also explore the deep Islamophabia within the left. Without referring to ethnicity or race, I unveil some fundamental issues at the core of Jewish identity politics.

I can assure you that none of my detractors have read my book yet, but they know what to expect. They know what I am capable of. And indeed, I promise to provide. The book is short but I believe it says it all, and it has already been endorsed and supported by some of the most important thinkers and academics within the anti-Zionist movement.

Dear friends, I have a big war ahead of me, and I predict that I may need your support from time to time.

Surprisingly, perhaps, I would like to end this post by quoting from the racist Harry’s Place’s mission statement – stamped boldly on their web page is the terse aphorism: “Liberty, if it means anything, is the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear.”

I actually go along with the Harry’s Place mantra – and I hope that my detractors will be brave enough to deal with my text. At least for them reflection is long overdue.